Metal flashlights, such as machined aluminum flashlights, are commonly finished, such as by surface anodization or bright dipping, to protect the surface of the flashlight and to impart an aesthetic quality to the flashlight. The body of such flashlights commonly includes a threaded tail cap for providing access to the battery compartment and which also serves as a battery terminal contact. Since the body of such flashlights usually provides part of the electrical circuit between the batteries and the light bulb, it is necessary for such electrically and physically mating surfaces as the body and the tail cap to be machined subsequent to surface finishing, such as anodizing, so that the electrical path through the body will have a low resistance. Machining the mating surfaces of the flashlight after surface finishing increases the cost of fabricating the flashlight due to the expense of a further machining step after anodizing and occasional damage to the finished surface of the flashlight during such further machining. To avoid further machining, it would be desirable to provide a battery assembly which presents both positive and negative contacts at the forward end of the flashlight so that the body of the flashlight would not need to be used as part of the electrical circuit. Hence, all machining of parts could be achieved before anodization.
It is known in the art to provide flashlights with rechargeable batteries. In prior art arrangements, when the flashlight is in the charger unit, the switch may be covered and inaccessible or the flashlight may be oriented (i.e. about the roll axis) in a wide variety of orientations. Hence the switch for operating the flashlight may be in a wide variety of orientations with respect to the charger unit. However, flashlights are often needed when it is dark in the vicinity of the flashlight in the charger unit. Hence, it would be desirable to provide a recharging system for a rechargeable flashlight which consistently presents the flashlight to the user with a known orientation of the operating switch on the flashlight in order to minimize fumbling for the switch on the flashlight in a dark environment.
It is recognized that a flashlight that is tightly held within a recharging unit in order to withstand vibration may be difficult to remove from the charging unit. This latter problem is increased if the flashlight is of compact size. Hence, it would be desirable to provide a rechargeable flashlight which is tightly held within a recharging unit while being easily removable to remove from the charging unit when needed.